Technology, socialistsl ike chalk & cheese

Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s jibes at his former deputy Sushil Kumar Modi over the latter’s habit of tweeting appear to have upset the BJP leader’s followers. itish said Modi’s tweets were an outcome of his unemployment. A BJP leader countered: “Modiji has always been way ahead of all politicians in using modern technologies. He was the first among politicians in the state to use a cellphone and log on to Internet. He was also among the first few to use Facebook for sending news clippings to his followers. The chief minister, on the other hand, failed to run his blog. He does not even carry a cellphone,” said a BJP leader. Leaders having socialist background have never been known for keeping themselves updated with the technology advancement. Nitish is like Lalu on the technology front, said the BJP leader, recalling Lalu Prasad's famous comment “Yeh IT-YT kya hota hai (What is IT-YT)?”

Political hint in mildfuel price protest

Unlike large-scale protests in the past, ritualistic statements from a few parties — the BJP and the Left parties — followed the recent steep hike in the prices of petrol. The RJD and the JD(U) remained silent. The state Congress leaders appeared pleased over the development. “It means both the RJD and the JD(U) are keen to forge an alliance with us in the Lok Sabha polls and do not want to displease us,” said a senior Congress leader, recalling that the leaders of his party fought a lonely battle for the past nine years defending the petrol price hike.

Unfair bsence

The inauguration plaque at the site of the flyover Nitish Kumar unveiled on Wednesday had the names of three other persons as “honoured guests” — MP Shatrughan Sinha, Leader of the Opposition Nand Kishore Yadav and Patna central MLA Arun Kumar — all local lawmakers. But neither the MP nor the MLAs turned up, apparently mixing politics and development schemes. “The chief minister kicked us out from the ministry. Why should we honour him with our presence?” asked a senior BJP leader, insisting that in politics everything was justified. On several occasions in the past, opposition parties accused the state government of ignoring the local MLAs at government functions.

Secret of honour

Be it on poster or in person, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan is always addressed as manniya (honourbale). The term is generally used in the Assembly and Parliament to address MPs and MLAs. “Chirag is yet to become an MP or MLA. But he is the chairman of the parliamentary board of the party. He is likely to contest in the next Lok Sabha polls and win. One may say he is the future MP,” joked an LJP supporter. The LJP is perhaps following the line of the BSP, whose supporters addressed late Kanshi Ram as Manyavar.